Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is the most common type of surgery employed to treat chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). In a typical FESS, an endoscope is advanced into the nasal cavities along with one or more rigid surgical instruments. The surgical instruments are then used, for example, to resect tissue, resect bone, ablate, and suction. In most FESS procedures, the natural ostium of at least one paranasal sinus is surgically enlarged to improve drainage from the sinus cavity. The endoscope provides direct visualization of most of the surgical field; however, certain anatomic structures (e.g., uncinate process, ethmoidal cells, or frontal recess) obstruct the line of sight to hidden parts of the surgical field. Moreover, anatomic variations (e.g., septal deviation) further limit the access to the area that requires treatment. Therefore, in order to adequately view the entire surgical field through the endoscope and safely remove diseased or hypertrophic tissue or bone, the physician is forced to remove or at least modify normal healthy anatomic structures thereby inflicting substantial collateral damage and trauma.
Several devices which provide less invasive treatment options are known in the art. Reference is now made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,115, issued to Williams et al., and entitled “Method for The Medical Treatment of The Neurological System”. This publication relates to a system for the nonlinear insertion of a catheter or lead into an interior organ. FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 present a co-centric tubular system for insertion of the lead. The non-linear insertion system includes a substantially linear outer tubular member, an inner tubular member, and a stylet. The stylet is slidably coupled within the inner tubular member, which in turn is slidably coupled within the outer tubular member, thereby forming a concentric system. The inner tubular member is of a curved shape and is fabricated from a superelastic material, such that it regains its curved shape when not constrained by the outer tubular member.
A surgeon inserts the outer tubular member into the organ being treated. After the outer tubular member is placed to the desired depth, the surgeon fixes its position. Next, the surgeon selectively advances the inner tubular member out the distal end of the outer tubular member. After the surgeon selectively advances the inner tubular member to the desired point along a desired curvilinear trajectory, the surgeon fixes the inner tubular member relative to the outer tubular member. Then the surgeon advances the stylet outwardly from the distal end of the inner tubular member toward the treatment site.
Reference is now made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,713, issued to Dubach et al., and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Stereotactic Implantation”. This publication relates to a device for the percutaneous localization of a foreign object in a body. The device includes a guide-tube cannula, a curved nitinol tubing, and a nitinol wire. The nitinol wire is slidably coupled within the curved nitinol tubing, which in turn is slidably coupled within the guide-wire cannula. The cannula and the wire are substantially straight. The curved tubing is curved. When the curved tubing protrudes out of the cannula, the tubing regains its original curved shape. When the wire protrudes out of the curved tubing it regains its original straight shape. Thereby, the wire of the implementation device can travel in a non-straight trajectory.
Reference is now made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,625,356, issued to Mickley, and entitled “Tortuous Path Injection Device”. This publication relates to a device for delivering therapeutic or diagnostic agents to a target tissue of a human body. The device includes a sheath lumen, a first elongate shaft, and a second elongate shaft. The first elongate shaft is slidingly disposed within the sheath lumen, and the second elongate shaft is slidingly disposed within the first elongate shaft. The first elongate shaft includes a curved portion. Thereby the device defines a tortuous path.